Gro for Smart Gardening: Nature Meets Smart Tech [iOS]

Is the myth behind the green thumb true? Is there a gifted group of people who can just throw any seeds in the earth and always get beautiful and healthy greeneries? Or if we look at the topic from the opposite perspective, can we accept that there are those who can’t grow anything no matter their efforts in taking care of their plants?

Regardless of the myth, gardening is as much of an art as it is a science. Sure, some people take on gardening as their hobby, but there are even more people who would give up even before they start because they think gardening is a complicated puzzle that they don’t even want to solve.

But we are living in the advanced technological era, aren’t we? Can we add technology to the mix and give the gift of a green thumb to any average Joe? That’s the basic premise of Gro, a free iOS app that will connect dirt with data and help you grow the garden that you’ve been dreaming of.

Solving Gardening Problems

1. Knowing What to Plant

So what makes gardening difficult? First of all, it’s difficult to know what plant is right for your yard. There are many types of soils with different kinds of organisms that live inside them. One combination of soil type and organisms will serve one particular plant better than the other combination. Finding the perfect fit used to require talent and experience, but no more.

Gro can help you analyze the soil in your yard to find out more about it and uses the data to recommend the best plant to grow there.

2. Break Down the Necessary Routines

Another common problem with gardening is that there seems to be so many things to do at different times. You can’t grow a good garden just by guessing what to do and when to do it. Gro can help break down those necessary routines into manageable steps that anyone can do.

You can also set the app to nudge you at the times when you need to do an actions so your plants can get all the care and attention they need.

3. Creating Curated Plant Combinations

Another way Gro can assist you is by suggesting plant combinations to grow based on specific goals that you choose. For example, the app can help you grow all the necessary ingredients for a pizza or cocktail. It will tell you what plants you need and all the necessary steps to manage your pizza (or cocktail or other item) garden to make sure that you get the best result.

But it doesn’t have to be about edible plants. You can also choose ornamental plants to beautify the front yard or just a simple but professional lawn that can be the envy of the block.

With a Little Help from Friends

Gro needs to work with other gardening hardware to collect data and manage the gardening process. Examples of such hardware are Parrot Flower Power and Blossom.

Parrot Flower Power is a sensor that you can “plant” near your plants to collect soil data, weather, and other environment data, and then send that data to Gro for further analysis.

Blossom is a smart irrigation controller that receives data from Gro and relays the information to the sprinklers for the best automated watering schedule.

Whether you are a pro gardener or a total novice who can barely keep houseplants alive, smart gardening applications like Gro can help you manage the small piece of land you have in the best possible way – whether it’s to grow your food or just to make it look beautiful. Those apps are the digital green thumb for the modern society.

Do you garden? Do you use apps to help you? Share your experience as a smart connected gardener using the comments below.